Music shouldn't necessarily be downloaded for free, but maybe the solution to this issue is a change in media format. It wasn't long ago that we were still listening to CDs. This article wishes to point out that "ownership" of music is becoming vague and irrelevant, and that the jump from MP3 Downloads to Streaming Subscriptions is less of a leap than one might imagine. While an MP3 file can be stolen, A streaming service would have to be hacked. Rather than chasing around files from an unfathomable number of sources, streaming music would leave only one source, the provider, to protect.
This article focuses on the feasible pros and cons of switching to a streaming-based format. The article points to only one major limitation of streaming: a WiFi or Cell Phone connection must be available at all times. While this initially kept streaming tied to computers, the number of cell phone towers and WiFi hot-spots is growing at a quickening pace, and this fact is making streaming media more feasible every day. In particular, the introduction of 3G was a big leap forward.
And outside of that, the article explains that streaming music is a preferable option in many ways. "Owning" music would no longer require any data storage space. And because "owning" is really more like "loaning" with streaming, DRM issues will be irrelevant to providers. While a downloaded file can be listened to anywhere, it also takes a few minutes to download a song on a 3G network. Streaming off of 3G takes only a few seconds to buffer. While MP3 downloads generally cost $1, existing streaming services generally charge about $10/ month for an unlimited amount of music. These services let you create personal playlists and offer many of the same options you'd have with owning the files themselves. Artists would benefit as well. Where an MP3 download provides a single royalty to the artist, streaming would provide continual, on-going royalties.
Although not mentioned in the article, I personally see the biggest problem being with peoples' desire to own something, or at least feel like they own it. Streaming services would have to provide a service akin to owning the actual music, and provide a sense of permanence and transferability so that people don't feel that their music is trapped in one place.